Thursday, September 9th, 2010 at 1:15 pm  |  75 responses

FIBA Wants NBA to Change Goaltending Rules

FIBA is cool with players blocking shots that are on the rim, and wants the NBA to feel the same way. From ESPN:  “The secretary general of FIBA, the governing body of international basketball, would like to see the NBA change its goaltending rules to allow players to knock the ball off the rim. The official, Patrick Baumann, made the comment during a lunch meeting with eight selected American and European journalists Thursday before the final two quarterfinal games at the FIBA World Championship. FIBA rules allow players to knock the ball off the rim after it touches the cylinder, whereas in the NBA that would constitute a goaltending violation. Baumann also said the chances of Great Britain being awarded a spot in the 12-team field for the 2012 Olympics will be made next March during a meeting of the FIBA executive committee, but will be contingent in large part on the British Basketball Federation’s road map toward building the growth of the sport for the long term. FIBA will be instituting two rules changes at the conclusion of this tournament, abandoning the trapezoid lane in favor of an NBA-sized rectangular lane, and moving the 3-point line back by a half-meter (19½ inches) from its current distance of 20 feet, 6.1 inches.”

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  • JTaylor21

    @SJay just because I wasn’t alive when your grumpy old a** was doesn’t mean that I don’t watch 80/90s games. Like I said before there are many ACTUAL game footage of the 60/70/80/90s floating around the internet, so I get to watch many of them on a daily basis. From what I’ve seen so far, the game is being played the same way as today with the only difference being the pace and movement without the ball. The ONLY problem I have with today’s game is that the pace is too SLOW with all the GREATS athletes that are around and there’s too MUCH one on one going on. It blows my mind that teams like the bulls, cavs, heat, and hawks with all great athletes play at such a SLOW pace and don’t even attempt to push the ball instead settle for the most re-used and ineffective NBA play; The pick and roll; blaaaah.

  • http://stapledesign.com Spaceship Jay

    Well jtaylor, what I can agree with is the fact that today’s NBA has way too many unnecessary things going on on the court. A younger friend of mine that was watching an old Bulls game was overwhelmed when he saw Kukoc catch a pass under the rim in traffic, only to simply… Lay it up. No up and under’s, no dribble-spins. HOWEVER… You’ve just once again told everyone here that everything you say that referrers to anything before the year 2000 is irrelevant. Sigh… and more than likely you’ll just say something else to further speak to the fact.

  • http://slamonline.com Dave.

    Why are so many Americans so vocal yet so ignorant?

  • MikeC.

    @JTaylor – watching the games online is good for perspective and to learn the history of the game, but nothing is a substitution for being there. If you can find any NY games from 1992-1997 online, watch how the guards manhandle the opposing ballhandlers on the perimeter. The “hands-off” rule we have now wasn’t in effect then. Watch Derek Harper put his right hand on the other PG’s hip/waist, and essentially ‘drive’ him around the court. Players couldn’t go where they wanted to go. Then picture Steve Nash or Iverson being as effective driving when someone is grabbing them and pushing them towards a trap on the sideline. Watch when someone goes to the basket and see how many times they get hit without a foul being called. When you hear announcers today lambasting a ref’s flagrant foul call and saying something like “that’s just a good, hard playoff foul”, they’re talking about the 80s/90s version of officiating. It’s not that the players were physically or even mentally tougher then. They may have been, but one thing is for sure, they were allowed to show that they were. Players were even allowed to look at the guy they dunked on after they posterized him. That’s a tech for taunting now. Mt. Mutombo was able to finger-wag the guy that he blocked while glaring at him. If Dwight did that now, he’d get a tech for the finger-wag and an ejection for the glare. The league is more sissified now. The rules have made it that way.

  • JTaylor21

    @MikeC, I did watch games in the 90s only problem was that I was a kid but I forgot most of what I saw. That’s why my memory needs to be jogged every now and then by watching past games on the net. Anyways, GREAT points but are you telling me that you think that guys like AI and Nash would not be as effective back then as they are right now. If players in the 90s were effective under such rules, what makes people think that today’s players would struggle in the 90s. Especially guys like Kobe/Wade/Bron/Dirk/CP/DWill and other greats of today will be as DOMINANT back then as they’re today. The rules may be different but GREAT players can play in any era, under any rules. You made great points but I disagree a little.

  • http://www.hypebball.com Sam Raphael Chadwick

    The bit about team GB and British Basketball is rediculour FIBA who said we could have a place in the Olympics in 2012 if we qualify for the EuroBasket2011 have now gone back on it and said they need to re-evaluate.

    Stupid FIBA.

  • http://www.borntocompete.com Money$hot

    This would not be a good rule change for the NBA, I dont think its not even a good rule for basketball period. It almost feels like your cheating the game if somebody shoots a shot and its rolling around the rim, and you happen to be tall as hell and you just jump up and slap the ball off. If this rule was in effect win Shawn Bradley played it would have almost gave him a chance to be a decent player. Secondly, players like Shaq would increase his blocks at least 1 or maybe even even two a game cuz any ball that doesn’t go directly in he could just lazily slap it off the rim. Garbage players will take points from shooters because they would try to tip dunk anything sitting on the rim for a millisecond to get points. And lastly, Lastly, Dwight Howard is probably rubbing his nipples right just thinking about if this change in rules would happen to take place.

  • Sturm Drang

    GEORGE MIKAN.

    Stupid FIBA with your lack of knowledge of basketball history.

    GEORGE MIKAN.

    The USA has already seen what basketball is like without goaltending rules. What did it look like? GEORGE MIKAN.

    So, NO. The NBA will never EVER get rid of the goaltending rules. That’s stupid. With how tall and athletic so many NBA players are now, Howard could have a 20 block game, and even lesser pfs and centers could get 5 blocks a game. This and FIBA’s other suggestions skew the rules in favor of the less athletic types – if everyone is reduced to a jumpshooter, it’s like dumbing down the bell-curve by taking advantages away from the more athletic guys.

  • the truth

    the fiba rules compared to nba suck, especially the goaltending rule…really wtf?

  • http://www.twitter.com/JoshElam JE

    I think FIBA should stop being an association of dumbasses, acknowledge that the game was created in America and stop hiring referees that try to sabotage every US game. If the NBA adopted FIBA goal tending rules, the Yao Ming’s and Shawn Bradley’s of the world could play til they’re 60.

  • http://www.twitter.com/JoshElam JE

    And my deepest apologies to Yao Ming for mentioning him in the same sentence as Shawn Bradley.

  • MikeC.

    @JTaylor – I retract one statement I made. I do think Iverson would be a big scorer in the rougher days as well, simply because the dude is so damn tough. I think Nash would have been a solid player then because he’s a lights-out shooter and they never go out of style, but he wouldn’t have had a chance at MVP status. The way Nash works the baseline, going back and forth (kinda like hockey players going behind the net looking to pass out for a quick hit on goal), would have been shut down back then. Players are allowed to run the baseline without being hit now. Back then (and I remember being coached to do this in high school), every baseline cutter got hit with a hip and a shoulder whether they had the ball or not. This would have limited Nash’s ability to run back and forth with the ball looking for cutters. Guys like Durant would still be excellent players, but would likely spend more time on the shelf due to injuries and their careers would be shorter. I think the NBA rule-makers have forgotten that basketball is a contact sport. There aren’t calculated and intentional smash-hits like football or hockey, but bumping the cutter used to be a fundamental of defense.
    @JE – Let’s see if Yao can play until he’s 30 before saying FIBA rules would let him play until he’s 60.

  • http://www.nba.com David Stern

    FIBA = Stupid

  • Isaac

    I don’t think the NBA should or will change that rule.. I think there might be some serious finger/hand injuries that would come from this, no?

    I also would like to point out that it would create a new era of basketball and section off today’s superstars vs future one’s in terms of rank amongst the basketball elite.. best example is when people argue for jordan that “he would have scored more if guards weren’t allowed to hand check.” i think it cheapens the basketball experience when we can’t compare this era to the last simply because the rules were different.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Sorry JE, Naismith was Canadian! =)

  • http://stapledesign.com Spaceship Jay

    @Mike C.; Nash would have done well. See: Mark Price.

  • Indigo

    It´s a dumb idea, yes. However most of this sites posters are insecure idiots who have little understanding of the game. FIBA have superior rules concerning traveling, the option of playing true zone defense and the lack of superstar calls. If these changes would be inplemented NBA basketball would be a hell of a lot better off.

  • ich

    goaltending has nothing with blocks! by FIBA rules when you slap the ball off the rim it’s not counted as block!!!

  • Shem

    Dwight, Roy Hibbert, Yao, Dalembert, etc. would all have a higher value if this happens, I hope it doesn’t though.

  • http://www.dontevenreply.com total scrotal implosion

    Ted dong, re-read, he said it was created in america, not created by an american.

  • http://www.twitter.com/JoshElam JE

    @Teddy: haha, touche.

  • dunkbar

    cosign ich … after the ball touches the rim, it’s not counted as a block and it’s not counted as a rebound. you simply deflect the ball off the rim. maybe everyone posting wrong information should start watching a fiba game or two before going off on boards like this one. just a suggestion, though …

  • AL

    You guys cant be more mistaken about what fiba rules stand for. Designed for unathletic players…? FIBA rewards athleticism AND FUNDAMENTALS a lot more than the NBA. Zone defenses should be outlawed because “its a mans league”?? Just wow. WNBA BALL?? WOW.

    Court size, shape of the key and 3 point line distance are the ONLY thing good in the nba. The ONLY thing.

    And cut down on the timeouts, please mr NBA.

  • Sturm Drang

    Pssh, FIBA rewards jumpshooters that are not athletic enough to drive to the hoop. The 3-pt line is closer so any shooter who would be totally limited to being a role-player in the NBA can be a star in FIBA.

    The fundamentals are still important in the NBA because without shooters, they load up on the inside quite well, even with the illegal defense rules. NBA rules are more demanding – how many European stars have gone to the NBA and been reduced to mediocrity because they aren’t athletic or quick enough to get that rebound or to get open for a good quality jump shot? Totally mediocre NBA players go into FIBA setting games and are suddenly great, like Arroyo and Delfino. A crappy NBA player who can’t make a shot is still crappy in FIBA play, but there are many Euro-league players that were supposed to be good that come into the NBA and just can’t handle having such fast players on defense.

    And “deflecting a ball off the rim” not counting as a block just has to do with stats. If you could do that in the NBA, you’d have to assign it a stat and the logical thing to call it is a block. In any case, once again, the USA has already seen a period of basketball history when this was allowed. A single stupendous center named George Mikan was SO good at this that they introduced the goaltending rules (he also caused the widening of the lane). If it was today, whether or not you call it a block or have a different stat for “deflections,” players like Howard could easily have a dozen in a game, and even smaller players that are very athletic in the NBA could have quite a few.

  • http://evindemirel.com Evin Demirel

    Interesting stuff. Here’s an Oct. 2010 update involving NBDL rules:

    http://theglobalhook.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-world-basketball-order-draws-nearer.html

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